When Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate-Austin bought their home in Marin City, California, they intentionally invested in one of the area’s historically Black communities. They spent years pouring $400,000 into renovations that should’ve raised the home’s value.
His best friend took his life, and it made Baldwin leave the U.S. in 1948. “My luck was running out,” Baldwin said. “I was going to go to jail, I was going to kill somebody or be killed. My best friend had [died by] suicide two years earlier.”
Baldwin repeatedly attempted to end his own life. Whenever one of our people dies by suicide, coloniality is partly to blame, because it has taken a toll on our mental, physical, and spiritual health.
Capitalism leads us to early deaths due to the endless pursuit of “excellence” and perfection that often leaves us dangerously divided and unfulfilled. Colonialism brought homophobia, colorism, and infighting.
We owe it to ourselves, future generations, and our ancestors to rid ourselves of colonial thinking. Who were we before coloniality intruded into our lives? How can we return to that?